More Than Words
by raykkenoha
Summary: Hogwarts needs a new professor. Harry Potter needs a new profession. Draco Malfoy needs closure. {EWE, Next Gen., more information on the first chapter}
1. Hogwarts needs a new professor

**Legal notice: some of the characters found in this story and this universe does not belong to me, but are the intellectual property of J.K. Rowling. Any original characters in this story are my intellectual property.**

 **#**

 **Summary for Part I: Hogwarts needs a new professor. Harry Potter needs a new profession. Draco Malfoy needs closure.**

 **WARNINGS: attempts at humor; non-epilogue compliant; slash; a bit of femslash; foul language; alcohol use; underage sex; incest (cousins only, so should I call it cousincest?); mentions of dark & blood magic; a bit of violence; adventure (sort of); discrimination; hurt/comfort; some _OOCness;_ frequent changes of the point of view (usually foretold with the '** xXxXx **' thing); graphic descriptions of sex, if you are sensible just ask me and I'll put a warning before I put it.**

 **#**

 **PART I**

 **#**

"Dad?" Draco Malfoy heard the voice and took his eyes away from the dangerous content in James Sirius Potter's cauldron.

"Scorpius, what are you doing here?" Draco asked, surprised. His son never came looking for him during his classes.

The ten-years-old fidgeted a bit, everyone in the classroom was staring at him.

"Mrs. McGonagall wants to see you at her office now," the boy finally said. "She says it's urgent."

Draco sighed.

"I want you all to make reports about why your potions failed, due to next class," he said, "class dismissed."

"But I didn't do anything wrong!" he heard a girl muttering and stopped on his tracks.

"Miss Zabini," he sighed, "you stirred it counter-clockwise when the instructions say clearly to stir it clockwise"

The girl blushed with embarrassment. James Potter snickered.

Draco left the dungeons with Scorpius by his side, but his son soon left him to go find Neville Longbottom.

When Draco reached the Headmistress' office, Minerva smiled at him and told him to sit down and wait for Longbottom.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Longbottom," she said when Longbottom sat on the chair next to Draco's, "I have a favour to ask from you both," she paused, looking at them to see if they had anything to say, "the Defence Against the Dark Arts' professor, Mr. Kim, is severely injured from his last Auror mission and cannot teach anymore," she sighed, "I haven't found anyone to replace him yet, so I want to ask if you both could relay in teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts to the students, at least until I find a suitable professor"

"Of course," Longbottom answered promptly, then frowned slightly, contemplating something.

"Sure," Draco said, then looked at Longbottom, "later we discuss how we are going to divide the periods and years"

Longbottom nodded, then looked warily at Draco before turning to face Minerva.

"I have a suggestion," he said, "he doesn't teach in a long time, so he might be a bit rusty, but he is very dedicated and he will probably be much better in coaching the quidditch team than I am," he admitted and Draco stifled a chuckle, "he was an Auror, and he..."

"Who is it, Neville?" Minerva asked impatiently.

"Er," Longbottom sighed, "Harry Potter"

xXxXx

James Sirius Potter was on his way to the Owlery, planning to send the letters he just wrote for his father and his mother. He was very excited with everything at Hogwarts, it was his first year, everything was wonderful, and he, Fred Weasley, Fabian Higgs, Thomas Finnigan and Frank Longbottom – his roommates – were already friends and liked to play pranks in the Hogwarts population.

James was so busy plotting his new trick that he did not even notice that there was already someone in Owlery, and ended up bumping on the ten-years-old boy and dropping the boy's glasses.

"Sorry," he muttered and bent down to pick up the boy's glasses.

"Thanks," the blond boy smiled shyly at him and put the glasses back on, returning his attention to the letter.

James studied the boy for a second. He knew the boy in question was Scorpius Malfoy, son of the potions master. He knew some stories about Draco Malfoy from his parents and uncles, and he knew that he was some kind of second cousin of Teddy.

"You weren't wearing glasses the last time I saw you," James said while attaching one of his letters to his owl's leg, then petting her before letting her go.

"I only use them to read," Malfoy answered and attached a letter to his owl's leg, smiling softly at the animal.

"James Sirius Potter," James said matter-of-factly when the blond boy gave him his undivided attention. James held out his hand.

"I know," Malfoy said and took James' hand, shaking it. "Nice to meet you," he said as he let go of James' hand "I am Scorpius Malfoy"

"I know," James stated and the boys stared at each other for a few seconds before breaking in bursts of laughter, "nice to meet you too"

They left the Owlery in silence, both wanting to talk but not knowing how to initiate a conversation.

"How old are you?" James asked.

"Ten," Scorpius answered, "I turn eleven in January, and next year I'll start my studies," he stated happily, "officially at least"

"Which house do you want to go?"

Scorpius looked up to the sky, rubbing his hands together because of the cold.

"Slytherin?" James asked, staring at the boy that was almost as tall as him, "I know your father was in Slytherin"

"I actually want to go to Ravenclaw, I even entered their common room sometimes" Scorpius said with a smile, "but I like all houses"

"Oh Merlin," James sighed exasperatedly. "You are such a nerd!" He grunted in mock annoyance, Scorpius chuckled.

"My father actually says the same thing," the blond boy said.

"Do you think he will care if you don't go to Slytherin?" James asked.

"No, I already talked to him about it. He said any house fine as long as I'm happy," Scorpius grimaced, "although I don't think he would be okay if I were to end up in Gryffindor"

James snorted.

"Dad actually likes you, you know," Scorpius said matter-of-factly and James stared at him with wide eyes, "he does say that you have inherited your father's unskilfulness in potions, but he says you're rather good in DADA and that you at least put effort in Potions."

"Wow," James was flabbergasted; he would never guess Professor Malfoy, of all people, liked him.

Scorpius gave him an amused look.

"Don't ever mention it, though," the blond boy said, "unless you want the Malfoy lineage to end abruptly, of course."

James cackled and Scorpius grinned, happy to have made a friendship with someone who was not at least thirty years older than he was.

xXxXx

It was the third week of teaching DADA for Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom and they were reaching their limits.

"What did Potter said?" Draco asked with a tired voice, sighing and waving his wand so that the essays he had to score appeared in front of him.

"Harry is coming here tomorrow to talk to Minerva," Longbottom said, sounding tired too. "Hopefully he will start next week."

"Oh, good," Draco sighed, "I never thought I would be willing to see Potter, but apparently I was wrong"

Longbottom laughed and Draco smiled wryly before returning to his work.

He was going to see Potter again.

 _Harry fucking Potter_ , the man whom he vowed to hate since he was eleven.

Also the man for whom he fell in love when he was fourteen.

He tried to ignore the weird thoughts he was having and focus on the essays in front of him. When he couldn't pay attention anymore, he rose from his seat, wished good night to Longbottom and left the Staffroom, heading to his quarters.

"What is this?" he heard the enthusiastic voice of James Sirius Potter inside his quarters and frowned.

"It's my father's Hand of Glory," he heard Scorpius's calm voice, "I don't like it very much, it's creepy"

Draco entered his quarters silently, looked at the two boys who were sitting on the sofa near the fireplace, James looking amazed with the things he could see on Draco's cabinet. Draco cleared his throat loudly. James froze and stared at him, scared. Scorpius just looked at him and smiled.

"Hey, dad" he greeted.

"Hello, Scorpius, Mr. Potter," he said sternly, James fidgeted and Draco fought the urge to laugh at the boy.

"Sorry, sir" he got up and Draco kept staring at him pointedly. "I will be going then?" he asked sheepishly.

"It's okay, boy," Draco laughed elegantly and looked at the clock, "it's already past curfew, I can transfigurate a bed for you so you won't have to wander alone in the castle at this hour"

James looked up at him in a grateful manner.

"Thanks, sir!"

"Don't think this will happen again," Draco said, "This time I won't give you detention or take points from Gryffindor house because it's the first time _I_ caught you out of bed at this hour," he looked at his son, "besides, Scorpius should have known better," he said firmly and Scorpius swallowed.

Draco transfigurated the sofa into a comfortable bed, then went to his room while Scorpius went to his.

Draco really tried to keep his thoughts away from untamed black hair, sparkly green eyes, glasses, calloused hands, strong arms, broad shoulders…

After twenty-two years, it would be only fair if Draco had moved on.

 _Apparently_ , Draco thought ruefully, _life is not fucking fair_.

 **#**

 **This first chapter was written under the influence of tears and emotions, which means I was not being me because** ** _~me~_** **is not frequently in the same picture as tears and emotions {me is having an existencial crisis right now}**

 **This fic is supposed to have two to three parts, but** ** _do not fear_** **, my fellow slashers, it won't be too long. The first part is quite short, actually, and I think it will have five to ten chapters, only.**

 **The first part will be focused on the Drarry part, but then there will be some time skips and there will be other couples, such as Albus S. Potter & Scorpius Malfoy, Louis Weasley & Lorcan Scamander (one of my favourites), Lily L. Potter & Hugo Weasley, etc.**

 **The second part (probably last, because the third would be the epilogue) will be quite longer because it will have more couples and I really want to develop them all, specially Louis & Lorcan because IT'S SO DAMN CUTE (in my mind, at least). **

**The name of the fic is More Than Words because I bloody love this song and it makes me remember Harry Potter (specially James & Lily's love).**

 **SOOOOOOOOOO, I wanted to post this a long time ago and after some tears and pizza and Coca-Cola and overthinking, HERE IT IS**

 **Hope you enjoyed it, _sorry about my rambling_ , xoxo, Raykk~**


	2. Of red shirts and blue skies

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

 _Our Defence Against the Dark Arts' Professor became unexpectedly unavailable and Professor Neville Longbottom suggested you as a suitable successor. The Hogwarts staff and I hereby come ask for your help, and wonder if you would like to teach here, since you have some experience on the field._

 _I must say that I need to hear your answer as soon as possible, since the term has already begun and I cannot leave my students helpless._

 _I hope you truly consider this request._

 _My best regards,_

 _Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft._

Harry was gobsmacked when he read the letter Minerva McGonagall has sent him.

"Dad?" he heard Lily's voice, she was tugging at his sleeve, "Is it surprise time?"

He blinked at her, taking a moment to process the words she said.

"Oh," he widened his eyes and cast a quick tempus, realizing it was almost ten o'clock. "We have to hurry, your grandmother said to be at The Burrow at twelve, let's go wake up your brother!"

Harry put the letter on the table and grabbed Lily's hand, taking her to Albus' room.

"Wakey, wakey, birthday boy!" Lily yelled while shaking her sleeping brother.

Albus mumbled something unintelligible and turned away. Lily got in his bed and started jumping, unable to stop the girl, Albus turned to face her, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Happy birthday!" she beamed and hugged him.

Harry chuckled and waited for his son to get up to hug him.

"Happy birthday, Al" he said and ruffled the boy's hair. "Go tidy up; we will go to The Burrow soon"

xXxXx

"It's a shame James can't be here," Molly Weasley lamented, "Albus would be happy to see him, you know how they were close."

"That's true," Ginny said, "but I guess James will send him a letter"

"How are you?" Molly asked.

Ginny sipped the tea and averted her mother's knowing look.

"Everything is fine;" she said honestly, "the Quidditch Cup will begin in few months,"

Molly raised her eyebrow, Ginny sighed, putting the cutlery on the table.

"I am just very busy lately, and I almost never see my children" she confessed, "I never was as present as Harry in the kids' life even before we divorced," she said bitterly, still not looking directly at her mother "and now with my latest promotion, I am afraid they are going to start to hate me."

"Stop being silly," Molly said softly, "they won't hate you just because they don't see you frequently, and you know that" she took Ginny's hands in hers. "It's been three years since the divorce and your children still love you," she squeezed Ginny's hand fondly, "what are you not telling me?"

Ginny finally turn to look at her mother, her eyes were full of fear and she let a lonely tear fall on her pale face.

"I am pregnant," Molly widened her eyes, but she was not looking at Ginny anymore, she was looking at the people who just entered the kitchen.

xXxXx

Ronald Weasley was not very punctual, that is why his mother usually told him he should arrive fifteen minutes before everyone when he was going to a place without Hermione's company. So at eleven and a half, he left the Weasley Wheezes and apparated into The Burrow's living room.

As expected, Hermione, Rose and Hugo were there already. A few seconds after his arrival, other people showed up and he felt a tinge of pride ran through his body to be on time.

"Where is mom?" he asked after giving a peck on his wife's lips.

"She is in the kitchen with Ginny," she answered and gripped his wrist when he started to move towards the kitchen, "Ronald Weasley, can't you wait until noon? The food won't run away"

"I will just grab a quick bite of something," he said with a pleading smile, "I haven't eaten nothing since breakfast."

"Well, I told you to take snacks to your workplace," she said matter-of-factly and sighed.

He smiled at her and went to the kitchen.

"Hey, Bill," he greeted his brother who was heading to the kitchen too, "how is Grigotts going? I heard that you were leading a curse-breaking expedition to Brazil"

Bill opened his mouth to answer, but was rendered speechless when he opened the door and heard his sister's voice.

"I am pregnant"

Molly widened her eyes at the men on the door; Bill was also with wide eyes, staring blankly at the two women. Ronald was gaping, completely taken aback.

"Oh, shit," they heard Ginny's voice and realized she has turned to face them, her eyes now pouring undesired tears on her cheeks.

Bill rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"Congratulations?" he tried and Ginny laughed a bit, which made him smile.

Ronald swallowed and got closer to his sister and hugged her, he had a feeling that she needed a hug.

"Congratulations," he said. "Does Oliver know?" he asked when he let her go.

"Yes," she murmured, "he is very happy."

"That's good, then," Ron smiled and stared at her for some seconds before frowning, "you sound insecure," he said in a very Hermione-like manner. "Aren't you happy about it?"

She shrugged and braced herself.

"She is afraid her children won't be thrilled with the idea of a new brother or sister," Molly said.

Ron stayed silent for a moment, pondering this.

"They may not be thrilled at first," he said finally, "but they won't hate you"

"You think so?" Ginny looked at him expectantly, "Won't they think I'll replace them or some shit like that?"

"They may think it," Bill said, finally entering the conversation, "Dominique was very resentful and angry when Fleur was pregnant with Louis, she even said she hated us for wanting to replace her," he sighed, "but then Louis was born and she got over it."

"She was four, it's understandable," Molly said, "your children are older and more understanding, everything will be alright."

"I hope you're right," Ginny said before wiping her tears and spelling a glamour in her face so that her red eyes and the tear tracks wouldn't be visible.

xXxXx

Harry, Lily and Albus flooed to The Burrow at twelve o'clock sharp. Harry and Lily got in first, and called the others to the living room.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALBUS!" everyone at The Burrow screamed when Albus arrived, making the boy stumble on his way out of the fireplace.

"Blimey, he is just like you, Harry!" Ron exclaimed after giggling, then he added, "Only in his actions, though, because James is the one that inherited your terrible looks, poor boy"

Harry punched his arm playfully and glared half-heartedly at Hermione who was laughing by her husband's side.

"Well, I'm pretty enough for the three of us," Lily said, looking defiantly at her uncle, and her father looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other and then both cackled with amusement.

Lily just ignored them and went to play with Hugo and the Scamander twins, since they were all around the same age.

Everyone was in the garden, where were tables and chair and food and a big cake. Albus was being hugged and getting congratulations from all his family. He was almost ready to engage in the Quidditch game his cousin Louis just invited him for, when an owl approached him.

It was a white Barn Owl, and it propped itself on Albus' shoulder, pecking his ear softly.

"It's from Hogwarts," Ginny said with a smile, "must be from James."

Albus picked up the package that was attached to the owl's leg and Harry gave it a treat. The owl hooted happily before flying away.

Albus frowned at the silver envelope and decided to open it first, hoping it was not a prank from his older brother. When he opened it, the envelope turned into something resembling a mouth and started speaking.

 _"_ _Is it working already?" James Sirius asked, "Is it?"_

 _"_ _Yes, I think it is" another voice said in a lower tone._

 _"_ _Then let's do it!" James exclaimed happily, "One, two, three…"_

 _"_ _HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AL!" many voices screamed._

 _"_ _I hope you have a very nice day!" Teddy Lupin said._

 _"_ _Bon anniversaire!" Victoire and Dominique wished._

 _"_ _You, my dear brother, is now becoming of age," James said, "you are eleven, you will soon come to Hogwarts, a place where you will have new responsibilities –,"_

 _"_ _That you completely ignore," said Violet Dursley' displeased voice._

 _"_ _You will learn about the feats our ancestors did," James promptly ignored her, "you will face the unknown, and many times you will fear for your life –,"_

 _"_ _What is there to fear about in here?" Molly Weasley II interrupted him with an annoyed huff, "The only thing to fear in Hogwarts is the possibility of finding_ certain people _snogging in some dark alcove after curfew." There were two particularly loud gasps when she said that, "I hardly find that life-threatening"_

 _"_ _It is quite traumatizing, though," Roxanne Weasley muttered._

 _"_ _Vicky and Teddy, why do you look so pale?" Fred Weasley asked innocently._

 _"_ _Will you please stop interrupting me?" James asked irritated, "I'm trying to be a good brother here," there were some laughter before James continued. "So, Al, hopefully you will like your gift, which are some –," James suddenly stopped talking when a 'click' was heard._

 _"_ _SCORPIUS HYPERION MALFOY!" Draco Malfoy shrieked._

 _"_ _Oh, shit," Molly murmured under her breath._

 _"_ _What – in Salazar's name – is a cluster of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs doing in my quarters?"_

 _The silence that followed was only broken by very low whispers of 'I'm a Slytherin!' and 'Me and Vicky are actually Ravenclaws'._

 _"_ _I invited them. Today is James' brother's birthday and he wanted me to help him prepare a surprise for him," Scorpius finally said._

 _"_ _It is true," Teddy confirmed._

 _"_ _We are using one of your Speakers to send him a message;" Scorpius said, and then added in a lower voice "I am sorry I didn't tell you before"_

 _"_ _It's okay," Draco said with a sigh, "just don't…" he gasped, "IS THAT A RED SHIRT YOU ARE WEARING? I DO NOT REMEMBER BUYING YOU A RED SHIRT!"_

 _"_ _Oh, Teddy here bought me that shirt after I told him I am quite fond of crimson," Scorpius' said and a tone of amusement was very notable in his voice._

 _"_ _LUPIN AND POTTER, IF MY SON GOES TO GRYFFINDOR I WILL –,"_

 _"_ _Love me anyway," Scorpius interrupted him and there was another long silence, broken only by the other boys' snickers._

 _"_ _Well, yes," Draco huffed, "but I was getting used to the Ravenclaw idea, and_ you know _you look better in blue,"_

 _"_ _That's true," Victoire spoke, her voice soft and comforting. "The blue highlights your eyes."_

 _"_ _Thanks," Scorpius muttered shyly._

 _"_ _Well, then," James spoke with renewed excitement, "we are sending you a postcard from Hogsmeade with our names on it, some sweets from Honeydukes and some drawings made by Scorpius here, who is a nice lad once you get past the nerd stuff"_

 _"_ _Hey!" Scorpius exclaimed and James barked out a laugh._

 _"_ _Anyway, hope you like it and…" he drew in a long breath, "One, two…"_

 _"_ _HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. SQUASHED TOMATOES AND STEW. BREAD AND BUTTER IN THE GUTTER. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"_

 _Slowly the silver envelope was turning to ashes and the last thing they heard was an annoyed Draco Malfoy muttering 'you people have no creativity'._

Every adult at The Burrow was silent. The children were talking about the 'Speaker' and Albus was opening the package and appreciating his gifts.

With the sole exception of the Dursleys, no one in there talked to Draco Malfoy. Some of them did not even know he had a son, less they knew about his son's friendship with James.

"Did you know James was friends with the ferret's son?" Ron asked Harry with a sneer and Hermione scowled at him.

"Ron, we are all grown-ups now, stop referring to Malfoy as if you were in Hogwarts," she scolded and he scoffed.

"He mentioned Malfoy's son in a letter two days ago," Harry said, "but I did not know they were so close"

"Andromeda says very good things about the boy," Hermione chipped in, and added after receiving two sets of questioning eyes "Andromeda was telling me yesterday that Teddy is quite fond of Scorpius Malfoy and his father, who is his Potions Professor _and_ his cousin, which I thought you knew"

"I know!" Harry exclaimed, "But I did not know Andromeda and Teddy were blending with the Malfoys"

"They have been for some years," Hermione gossiped, "Andromeda and Narcissa meet at least twice a week since Teddy has gone to Hogwarts"

"Wow, they hid that very well, then" Ron said with some amusement in his voice.

xXxXx

Lorcan Scamander loved the sky. He loved the turquoise tone it had, and the way the clouds fluttered in it, and the forms the clouds would take. He also loved the sunsets, where the sky colour changed to dark orange or dark purple or something in between.

Even though he loved the sky, he did not like to fly.

Now he was watching his friends who were flying on the field of The Burrow, waiting for the others to start a Quidditch game.

"Hey, we need one more," Lily said, proudly holding her children' broom.

Hugo, who was by her side, standing a tad bit taller than she does, even though he was still an eight-years-old, looked around and locked his eyes with Lorcan. Hugo grinned. Lorcan grimaced and shook his head while the red-haired approached him.

"Just one game," he pleaded, looking at his best friend with puppy dog eyes, "it's not that hard!"

Lorcan tried to say no. He really did. However, Hugo was decided and he would not take no as an answer. After a not-so-long argument, Lorcan ended up accepting to play.

"I will be the team A captain," Albus said.

"I will be the team L captain," Louis said with a smirk and Albus rolled his eyes, "you are the birthday boy, you pick first."

Albus nodded and looked around at the other kids. Since they were too young, they would have to play with safe bludgers.

Since there were only eight kids willing to play (they did not even try to convince Rose), the teams would have one chaser, one beater, one keeper and one seeker each. Team A was composed of Albus, Hugo, Lily and Lorcan. Team B was composed of Louis, Lucy, Peter Dursley and Lysander.

Lorcan was not a good beater. He tried to fly and beat the bludger at the same time, but those two things seemed impossible. He was praying Albus – or even Louis – would get the bloody Snitch soon. Now the Quaflle was with Lysander, who attempted to make another goal that Hugo gladly defended.

He stopped flying around, giving up on hope of doing something useful for his team, and his eyes catch something golden. Something golden with very thin wings.

The Snitch was near the Team L's keeper, Lucy. Lorcan looked around for Albus, finding that the boy was higher and siding Louis.

Biting his lip without taking his eyes from the Snitch, Lorcan decided to fly higher, if he could just go a bit higher and a bit to the left, he would reach Albus.

He somehow managed to hold the bat between his chin and his collarbone, pressed tightly against his throat, and he held the broom with his two hands and prompted upwards. He was doing it just fine, in some seconds he would tell Albus about the Snitch, they would win the game, and he would finally just lay down on the grass and look lazily at the sky…

That was until, somehow, the bludger was coming his way, and he had to stop all movements, get the bat and hit it. He had to, but he didn't. When he took one of his hands out of the broom to pick the bat, he somehow managed to turn away on the broom and get upside down. If that wasn't enough, the bludger hit him square in the chest, making him experience a terrifying shortness of breath and fall down.

If it weren't for the excruciating pain, Lorcan would say that he was relieved. He breathed in the grass that was right on his face, and then forced his body to sit on the ground.

He looked sheepishly at Hugo when he approached him.

"Sorry about the broom," he muttered.

"Are you okay?" Hugo asked with concern.

"My whole body is in pain," he answered, "but other than that I'm fine"

"Idiot," Hugo scoffed half-heartedly while he helped the nine-years-old boy to get up from the floor.

Louis snorted, and then laughed at the boys.

"You are such a dork," he said to Lorcan in a harassing manner.

Lorcan looked at him expressionless, his dreamy silvery grey eyes staring at Louis' blue ones for few seconds.

"His eyes are as blue as the sky," Lorcan whispered to Hugo after he turned around and they headed to The Burrow.

 **#**

 **Hope you liked it. Thanks for giving this a shot.**

 **BY THE WAY, I had already written this chapter before JK's reveal that James Sirius is not one, but two years olders than Albus... Which means my story is not going to be totally canon, sorry.**

 **Anyway, see you soon x**


	3. So, Draco Malfoy is gay

Draco Malfoy was just turning around a corner when he caught sight of tousled black hair coming up the stairs right in front of him.

At first, he thought it was James, and he was ready to scold the boy for not being in class in the very first period of a Wednesday.

Then he found out that the tousled black hair outlined a face marked with a lightning bolt, tanned skin, round-rimmed glasses and almond-shaped eyes coloured _fucking green_.

"Potter," Draco gasped, clutching his hands to his chest as if this motion would slow down the fast beating of his heart.

Potter eyed him curiously, his brow raising slightly.

"Hello to you too, Malfoy," he said.

Draco nodded in acknowledgment, letting his hands fall down. He masked his bewildered expression, raised his chin and walked away nonchalantly.

 _'I must look like a bloody schoolboy with a crush,_ stupid me _in love with_ even stupider Potter _'_ , he thought bitterly before entering the Seventh Year's classroom.

"Today we will start breeding the Polyjuice Potion," he said to his students, "it allows a human drinker to temporarily assume the form of another person. It is a _very hard_ –" somehow a lewd image of Potter appeared in his mind and he had a coughing fit. His students stared at him curiously and started whispering their speculations to each other.

After some minutes, he cleared his throat loudly, making the Seventh' years silent.

"It is a very _difficult_ potion to brew," he finally said, "its brewing time is one month and it has two parts," he waved his wand and the instructions for the first and second parts appeared in the chalkboard, "the _basic_ instructions are in the chalkboard, but I recommend you look into your books for further information". He sighed when he caught several looks of anxiety aimed towards him, "I hope you push yourselves, because this project consists in thirty per cent of your marks," he sat on his chair, looked at his frightened students with a wry smile, and then added, "oh, it's in pairs."

xXxXx

Harry was happy with being able to be in Hogwarts. When he talked to Ron and Hermione about this, they both agreed that it was a great opportunity. Albus and Lily were thrilled with the idea, mostly because it would give them the chance to spend some time within Hogwarts before starting school. James seemed a bit put out on the first letters, but then he said it would be nice to have classes with his father, and when he said that, Harry sent a letter to McGonagall with his acceptance.

He had arranged everything in the last two weeks and now he, Albus, Lily and James would move to Hogsmeade by the end of the week.

After having discussed everything there was to discuss with McGonagall, Harry went on search for Hagrid. Not finding the half-giant in his hub, he decided to venture in the Forbidden Forest. Walking down a path he recalled from his fifth year, he found out some Thestrals and someone feeding them.

From far away, the person looked a lot like a miniature version of Draco Malfoy. However, as Harry approached the boy, he realized the differences, such as the way the hair was styled and the blue-rimmed glasses that adorned the pointy face, but what bemused Harry the most was the look of sheer peacefulness in the boy's face while dealing with Thestrals; Draco Malfoy was not an animal person.

Scorpius Malfoy probably felt Harry approaching, because he turned around and stared at the man.

"Hello," Harry said with a warm smile, holding out his hand for the boy, "I'm Harry Potter"

Scorpius smiled – not smirked, nor sneered – and shook Harry's hand.

"I know," he said, "I am Scorpius Malfoy"

Harry turned his attention to the baby Thestral in front of him, only now realising that Scorpius could also see them. He looked at the boy with concern.

"My mom died when I was seven," Scorpius answered the unasked question after he noticed the look on Harry's face. He gave an apple to the Thestral in front of him, smiling fondly when the animal nuzzled his cheek.

"I am sorry," Harry said.

Scorpius shrugged. "I would ask who you saw," he turned to face Harry, "but there was the whole war thing, so I suppose it doesn't matter."

"Cedric Diggory," Harry said, stroking the skeleton head of a baby Thestral, "It happened before the war,"

"Oh, I think I know this name…" Scorpius frowned slightly, and then his eyes brightened. "Oh, yeah! The Triwizard Tournament, Mad Barty Crouch Jr. and the ferret incident, Potter Stinks badges, the Slutherin contest and the Yucky Ball," he said excitedly, "dad told me all about it."

"He did?" Harry asked with surprise. "I didn't tell my kids about the ferret incident"

"James knows," Scorpius announced.

"Ron probably told him this," Harry said, and then added after receiving a curious look from the boy, "Ronald Weasley, my best friend and James' godfather."

"Oh, I know him too," Scorpius said, "I have his Frog Card"

"Why does your father called the ball 'The Yucky Ball'?" Harry asked after a few seconds of silence.

"He said it was Yucky because he had to kiss aunt Pansy," Scorpius shrugged, "she says it was a bad kiss because he is a shirt-lifter," the blond boy looked thoughtful, "but mother never said such things, so I think aunt Pansy is just embarrassed with her kissing skills"

"Oh," Harry looked taken aback, "Do you know what shirt-lifter means?"

"Yes," Scorpius answered, now feeding and caressing another Thestral, "I admit that I didn't understand when aunt Pansy first said that, but then dad explained to me that it was an expression used to label men who liked to be with other men"

 _Merlin, Draco Malfoy is gay!_

Harry was gaping now, and Scorpius looked at him with a frown. Harry closed his mouth and swallowed.

"Um," he hesitated a bit before asking, "and what was the Slutherin contest?"

"Oh," Scorpius bit his lip, "sorry, I can't tell, and I don't know much about it"

Harry bit his tongue to not do something childish as put on an Auror act to get the information out of the kid. He then looked up at the sky and smiled.

"Today the weather is surprisingly nice," he said and looked at Scorpius, "do you know how to fly?"

Scorpius nodded eagerly and Harry's smile broadened.

"Then let's go for a quick match, what do you say?"

"I'd love it!"

xXxXx

Draco was surprised when he saw a blond-haired person waiting patiently beside his door in the dungeons. He snorted and entered his chambers, the person following him in immediately.

"Smith," he greeted with an unfriendly expression.

Zacharias Smith approached him and tried to kiss him in the mouth, an act that made Draco promptly turn his face and push the other man away.

"Draco," Smith still smiled happily even after being rejected. "I've missed you!"

"Oh, really?" he asked cynically. "If I remember correctly, you were aware of the meaning of the term 'One-night stand'"

The Hufflepuff rolled his eyes and smirked.

"We could have more," he cupped Draco's groin and squeezed lightly. "No strings attached," he added when Draco swatted his hand away, "just some harmless casual sex."

"No, Smith," the Slytherin said and turned around to organise the table. He looked at his clock on the wall and wondered if Scorpius would be late for lunch.

When he turned back, Smith gave him a grin.

"One day you'll want my body again," he seemed so confident that Draco had to bite his lip to prevent himself from saying _'I never wanted it in the first place, I just happened to be on the wrong place, at the wrong time and with a bottle of Firewhiskey'_. Smith took a different meaning to this action and his grin widened, "Just you wait," he said before leaving the room.

"Bloody Hufflepuff," Draco muttered and cast a spell to call for a house-elf.

"Master Draco," the elf greeted with a bow, "what can Bitsy do for Master?"

Before he could ask for the elf to call Scorpius, the boy entered the chambers accompanied by a tall dark-haired man.

"Hey dad," Scorpius smiled.

"Um," the older blonde stammered, "Potter?"

"We were flying and I invited him to have lunch with us," Scorpius provided, "hope it's okay"

"It's freezing out there!" Draco said, narrowing his eyes. "Why were you flying in this weather?" he asked with concern, Scorpius shrugged and grimaced when his father used a warming spell on him.

"It's not that cold out there, dad," Scorpius said while Draco still scrutinised him, "and Mr. Potter used a spell that made the quidditch pitch feel warmer,"

"Oh," Draco glanced at Potter, remembering that he was there, before turning to Scorpius again and ruffling his hair kindly. "You're okay, then."

"So," Scorpius fidgeted. "Is it okay if Mr. Potter lunches with us?"

"It's fine," Draco said and turned to the house-elf, "could you bring us the food, please?"

"Sure, Master Draco," the elf turned to Scorpius and Potter, "Master Potter, Master Scorpius," he bowed once again and disappeared with a _pop_.

Draco conjured another chair and put another place on the table.

"I can lunch in the kitchens if you'd like," Potter said, suddenly too close, and Draco gasped.

"Nonsense!" Draco said, not looking directly at Potter, and sat down. "My son invited you here, and I reiterate this invitation,"

"Okay," Potter sat apprehensively by his side.

Scorpius looked at both men with curiosity, but said nothing and sat down across from his father.

The food appeared on the table, and they started to eat.

"So," Scorpius said after taking a mouthful of his pumpkin juice, "how did aunt Millie and uncle Dudley met?" he asked Potter.

Draco eyed the man interestedly. Yes, he saw the Durleys in a monthly basis, but he and Millicent were not the best of friends. He guessed Pansy probably knew how the two met, but never told him because they would end up talking about Potter.

"Dudley never told you?" He asked Draco, who shook his head. "Oh, well," Potter sighed, apparently organising his thoughts, "Millicent and I were partnered for a job, and we ended up at Muggle London because the bad guys were trying to foil us."

"What was the job?" Scorpius asked.

"Some dark wizards were stealing babies from Muggle Hospitals," Potter said with anger, "it was a horrible case"

Draco clenched his fists, also feeling angry. Scorpius just stared at the Man Who Lived with wide eyes.

"Anyway," Potter said, trying to ease the mood, "I bumped into Dudley, we talked for a bit, and Millicent got really angry and scolded both of us." He laughed, "I caught sight of one of the wizards we were after, and we ambushed them in an alley," he sighed, "but Dudley tagged along and got hurt."

"I still don't see how they ended up falling in love," Scorpius frowned.

"We arrested some of the bad guys and took Dudley to St. Mungos," Potter continued, "since he got wounded by a curse that was actually meant for Millicent, she promised to not leave his side until he woke up," he grimaced, "he woke up after a week. We had to take him to his parents' place, so as soon as Dudley entered the house, Millicent and I had to leave – they hate magic, my uncles –, but Dudley managed to ask her out. She accepted."

"What did your uncles said to that?" Draco asked.

"My aunt sort of accepted it. My uncle Vernon was livid, mostly at me for introducing his son to 'that dreadful freak', as he likes to call her."

"That's awful," Scorpius said, outraged.

"Prejudice is awful, indeed." Draco said, looking thoughtful.

Potter could only nod in agreement.

"So, how did Susan Bones married Blaise Zabini?" Potter asked to lighten the mood and Draco turned to look at him.

"That's a rather funny story," he said before starting to tell the tale of how his trial helped to unite a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin.

After more light conversation, lunchtime was over and Draco had classes to teach. He kissed Scorpius' forehead and shook Potter's hand, lingering more than necessary and earning a raised brow from the other man.


End file.
